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@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ src/epistolary/00039.md
src/epistolary/00040.md
src/epistolary/00041.md
src/epistolary/00042.md
src/epistolary/00043.md
src/epistolary/00044.md
src/bestiary/index.md
src/bestiary/aur.md
src/bestiary/blahoblin.md

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@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
---
title: 00043
created: Mon, 19 Dec 2022 08:03:20 -0700
updated: Mon, 19 Dec 2022 08:03:25 -0700
syndicated: yes
public: yes
---
### 00043 {#00043}
> Pirates?! Again?! Alex groans, unfortunately he's run into this crew
> of dastardly mostly cybernetic punks in the past. Nasty group back
> home, always kept the precinct busy. Not necessarily with the
> detective work, it was always a little obvious when they showed up.
> They have a flair for the dramatic.
>
> Alex shouts to Inky & Jarrod "Come on, we need to get in one of those
> balloons and fast!" he then darts off in the direction of the nearest
> abandoned balloon in the market place, not looking to see if his
> companions had followed him.
>
> *internally* I know these guys have pulled off smaller heists, they
> could just be attacking the hotel to plunder riches from its guests.
> They don't seem the likes of a retrieval team.. Then again, that
> Blavin fellow has multiple teams working for him, and he doesn't seem
> all too picky about how they get the job done, it wouldn't be
> surprising if he'd hired some brigands hoping they'd get the gems
> faster.
>
> Alex conjures up another bug, a stag beetle this time, and casts it
> away at the pirate ship. It'll probably take some time to catch up,
> but once it does we'll be able to keep an eye on the pirate's ship
> and general actions, at least within line of sight of the bug.
>
> As Alex reaches the balloon he grabs the ruby hilted dagger and cuts
> the mooring lines keeping it down, and jumps into the basket
> preparing for take off.
You spot a balloon that has already been knocked half loose of its
mooring by the pirate attack. The basket is listing to the side and
tugging at the one remaining rope tying it down Its owner scurries
around in circles trying to secure it.
The vertical panels of the balloon are all different colors, creating
a brilliant rainbow pattern. The large woven basket is large enough
for maybe three people.
You leap inside, swinging the ruby hilted dagger at the remaining
mooring line. The balloon owner cries out in dismay. The basket
shifts beneath your feet as the balloon tugs it skyward.
In the burner, a small sunspoke---a minor fire elemental---is merrily
burning away, producing a modest flame that is hot enough to lift the
balloon slowly above the market into the sky. There is a knob valve
on the side of the burner to allow more oxygen to flow in, thereby
feeding the sunspoke and encouraging it to burn more intensely and
raise the balloon higher and faster. The valve is currently only
about one third open.
A pile of blankets in one corner of the basket---and that area of the
basket itself---is covered in blood. Somebody injured in the pirate
attack must have temporarily climbed into the basket looking for
cover? As you're about to look away, something large-ish (small for a
human, large for an animal) under the blankets shifts and moves.
> Inky stares after Alex's sprinting figure before shrugging and
> stepping towards one of the stalls selling sandwiches bowled over
> by one of the large boulders. They place some loose change on the
> stall's wooden sign that had tipped over on the ground and pocket
> one of the sandwiches displayed inside an open chest oven. Next,
> they pick up several of the scented candles scattered on the ground
> by the crash, throwing some coins in the direction of the
> disoriented vendor before continuing at a leisurely pace up the
> steps to the hotel, taking in the balloonship and surrounding
> scenery. The members of their merry party arriving first can hold
> their own as well as the fort of a hotel.
You do a little leisurely shopping as the vendors and other shoppers
put out fires and tend to the injured. With a couple scented candles
and a sandwich safely in your pocket, you start to climb the cloud
steps, enjoying the scenery as you go. Bread and Confidence have
quite a bit of a head start on you, and are nowhere to be seen. As
the stairway winds around the mountainside, the market and its bustle
recede from view, and soon you are quite isolated and alone.
The majesty of creation is humbling here: the endless, roiling ocean
of cloud; the towering mountain of rock. It's as though this was the
creator's playground when they were still trying to figure out scale.
Before they quite got it right for human-sized creatures.
About halfway up your climb, it starts raining sheets of paper. You
snatch one and read it. Some heroic fantasy about slaying demons and
facing great peril. You grab another. A bodice-ripping romance.
Another. A gourmand's food tour of Basmentaria, eating their way from
coast to coast. A murder mystery whodunnit. An aetherwael handler's
guide to interplanetary travel. How to grow your own fortified
pumpkins. On the Care and Maintenance of Fortles. The Rise and Fall
and Rise of Palace Runesocesius. Within a minute, you have fists full
of an entire library's worth of snippets and passages.
~
It looks as though Alex will approach the hotel by balloon from the
non-pirate side. And Inky's approach by stair will deposit them at
the hotel entrance, roughly pirate-adjacent.
WHAT DO YOU DO
[www](https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00217.html)

52
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@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
---
title: 00044
created: Tue, 20 Dec 2022 08:47:08 -0700
updated: Tue, 20 Dec 2022 08:47:11 -0700
syndicated: yes
public: yes
---
### 00044 {#00044}
> As Alex spots the sunspoke valve he grabs it and cranks it up to the
> 2/3 mark. "Sorry little friend, we're going to need a little bit more
> juice". The baloon lurches upwards as air rushes in feeding the
> sunspoke, causing it to burn more intensely. After setting the
> sunspoke ablaze and shouting back to the balloon's owner Alex takes
> account of his surroundings. It's during this time he spots the
> bloodied, moving blankets. They seem to writhe, as though something
> beneath them is injured.
>
> Gripping the dagger firmly in one hand Alex grabs the blankets from
> the corner of the balloon basket revealing whatever lay beneath.
The sunspoke stretches its little arms and wriggles its little
fingers. It sighs happily, luxuriating in the extra fuel. It burns
twice as bright, shooting a hot jet of bright yellow flame up into
the parachute. The sunspoke starts to glow a molten red, and you
start to rise faster.
As you rise up over the peak, you can finally spot the Runesocesius.
The grand hotel is draped over the top of the mountain, clinging to
it like a dragon resting on its hoard.
The "cyberplasms" as Confidence called them have docked to the side
of a tower on the other side of the peak from you. They have shot a
large hole in the side of the tower, and you can see them now
starting to zipline into the building. A thick plume of black smoke
billows out of the side of the tower, carrying pages and pages of
loose paper into the air with it. They rain down like snow. The tower
must house an extensive library.
You cautiously pull back a corner of the bloody blankets, jeweled
dagger raised and ready to strike. You reveal a small bloody furry
blob. You see two big round eyes, a short-snouted face, and enormous
pointed ears. It quickly looks away from you, chirps pathetically,
and trembles as it cowers in place. You have found a frightened
hemogoblin stowaway!
WHAT DO YOU DO
[www](https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00219.html)

131
www/index.html
View File

@ -251,6 +251,8 @@ of the Were-Hare</a></li>
<li><a href="#00040" id="toc-00040">00040</a></li>
<li><a href="#00041" id="toc-00041">00041</a></li>
<li><a href="#00042" id="toc-00042">00042</a></li>
<li><a href="#00043" id="toc-00043">00043</a></li>
<li><a href="#00044" id="toc-00044">00044</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#bestiary" id="toc-bestiary">Bestiary</a></li>
<li><a href="#geography" id="toc-geography">Geography</a></li>
@ -260,11 +262,11 @@ of the Were-Hare</a></li>
</ul>
</nav>
<h2 id="stats">Stats</h2>
<p>Total length: 41570 words / 177 minute read. (Mind you, that’s the
<p>Total length: 42782 words / 182 minute read. (Mind you, that’s the
length of this entire page, including all the extra bits and bobs. Not
just the story.)</p>
<p>There have been 148 messages posted over 157 days since the first
post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of .94.</p>
<p>There have been 155 messages posted over 160 days since the first
post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of .96.</p>
<h2 id="about">About</h2>
<p>This is a game that me and the kids in the basement are playing over
email.</p>
@ -4778,6 +4780,129 @@ bounding up the cloudstuff steps.</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00203.html">www</a></p>
<h3 id="00043">00043</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>Pirates?! Again?! Alex groans, unfortunately he’s run into this crew
of dastardly mostly cybernetic punks in the past. Nasty group back home,
always kept the precinct busy. Not necessarily with the detective work,
it was always a little obvious when they showed up. They have a flair
for the dramatic.</p>
<p>Alex shouts to Inky &amp; Jarrod “Come on, we need to get in one of
those balloons and fast!” he then darts off in the direction of the
nearest abandoned balloon in the market place, not looking to see if his
companions had followed him.</p>
<p><em>internally</em> I know these guys have pulled off smaller heists,
they could just be attacking the hotel to plunder riches from its
guests. They don’t seem the likes of a retrieval team.. Then again, that
Blavin fellow has multiple teams working for him, and he doesn’t seem
all too picky about how they get the job done, it wouldn’t be surprising
if he’d hired some brigands hoping they’d get the gems faster.</p>
<p>Alex conjures up another bug, a stag beetle this time, and casts it
away at the pirate ship. It’ll probably take some time to catch up, but
once it does we’ll be able to keep an eye on the pirate’s ship and
general actions, at least within line of sight of the bug.</p>
<p>As Alex reaches the balloon he grabs the ruby hilted dagger and cuts
the mooring lines keeping it down, and jumps into the basket preparing
for take off.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You spot a balloon that has already been knocked half loose of its
mooring by the pirate attack. The basket is listing to the side and
tugging at the one remaining rope tying it down Its owner scurries
around in circles trying to secure it.</p>
<p>The vertical panels of the balloon are all different colors, creating
a brilliant rainbow pattern. The large woven basket is large enough for
maybe three people.</p>
<p>You leap inside, swinging the ruby hilted dagger at the remaining
mooring line. The balloon owner cries out in dismay. The basket shifts
beneath your feet as the balloon tugs it skyward.</p>
<p>In the burner, a small sunspoke—a minor fire elemental—is merrily
burning away, producing a modest flame that is hot enough to lift the
balloon slowly above the market into the sky. There is a knob valve on
the side of the burner to allow more oxygen to flow in, thereby feeding
the sunspoke and encouraging it to burn more intensely and raise the
balloon higher and faster. The valve is currently only about one third
open.</p>
<p>A pile of blankets in one corner of the basket—and that area of the
basket itself—is covered in blood. Somebody injured in the pirate attack
must have temporarily climbed into the basket looking for cover? As
you’re about to look away, something large-ish (small for a human, large
for an animal) under the blankets shifts and moves.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Inky stares after Alex’s sprinting figure before shrugging and
stepping towards one of the stalls selling sandwiches bowled over by one
of the large boulders. They place some loose change on the stall’s
wooden sign that had tipped over on the ground and pocket one of the
sandwiches displayed inside an open chest oven. Next, they pick up
several of the scented candles scattered on the ground by the crash,
throwing some coins in the direction of the disoriented vendor before
continuing at a leisurely pace up the steps to the hotel, taking in the
balloonship and surrounding scenery. The members of their merry party
arriving first can hold their own as well as the fort of a hotel.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You do a little leisurely shopping as the vendors and other shoppers
put out fires and tend to the injured. With a couple scented candles and
a sandwich safely in your pocket, you start to climb the cloud steps,
enjoying the scenery as you go. Bread and Confidence have quite a bit of
a head start on you, and are nowhere to be seen. As the stairway winds
around the mountainside, the market and its bustle recede from view, and
soon you are quite isolated and alone.</p>
<p>The majesty of creation is humbling here: the endless, roiling ocean
of cloud; the towering mountain of rock. It’s as though this was the
creator’s playground when they were still trying to figure out scale.
Before they quite got it right for human-sized creatures.</p>
<p>About halfway up your climb, it starts raining sheets of paper. You
snatch one and read it. Some heroic fantasy about slaying demons and
facing great peril. You grab another. A bodice-ripping romance. Another.
A gourmand’s food tour of Basmentaria, eating their way from coast to
coast. A murder mystery whodunnit. An aetherwael handler’s guide to
interplanetary travel. How to grow your own fortified pumpkins. On the
Care and Maintenance of Fortles. The Rise and Fall and Rise of Palace
Runesocesius. Within a minute, you have fists full of an entire
library’s worth of snippets and passages.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>It looks as though Alex will approach the hotel by balloon from the
non-pirate side. And Inky’s approach by stair will deposit them at the
hotel entrance, roughly pirate-adjacent.</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00217.html">www</a></p>
<h3 id="00044">00044</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>As Alex spots the sunspoke valve he grabs it and cranks it up to the
2/3 mark. “Sorry little friend, we’re going to need a little bit more
juice”. The baloon lurches upwards as air rushes in feeding the
sunspoke, causing it to burn more intensely. After setting the sunspoke
ablaze and shouting back to the balloon’s owner Alex takes account of
his surroundings. It’s during this time he spots the bloodied, moving
blankets. They seem to writhe, as though something beneath them is
injured.</p>
<p>Gripping the dagger firmly in one hand Alex grabs the blankets from
the corner of the balloon basket revealing whatever lay beneath.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The sunspoke stretches its little arms and wriggles its little
fingers. It sighs happily, luxuriating in the extra fuel. It burns twice
as bright, shooting a hot jet of bright yellow flame up into the
parachute. The sunspoke starts to glow a molten red, and you start to
rise faster.</p>
<p>As you rise up over the peak, you can finally spot the Runesocesius.
The grand hotel is draped over the top of the mountain, clinging to it
like a dragon resting on its hoard.</p>
<p>The “cyberplasms” as Confidence called them have docked to the side
of a tower on the other side of the peak from you. They have shot a
large hole in the side of the tower, and you can see them now starting
to zipline into the building. A thick plume of black smoke billows out
of the side of the tower, carrying pages and pages of loose paper into
the air with it. They rain down like snow. The tower must house an
extensive library.</p>
<p>You cautiously pull back a corner of the bloody blankets, jeweled
dagger raised and ready to strike. You reveal a small bloody furry blob.
You see two big round eyes, a short-snouted face, and enormous pointed
ears. It quickly looks away from you, chirps pathetically, and trembles
as it cowers in place. You have found a frightened hemogoblin
stowaway!</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00219.html">www</a></p>
<h2 id="bestiary">Bestiary</h2>
<p>Some of the creatures who inhabit the world of Basmentaria</p>
<dt>

163
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View File

@ -154,6 +154,169 @@
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>43</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">43 - Mon, 19 Dec 2022 08:03:20
-0700</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 19 Dec 2022 08:03:25 -0700</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="00043">00043</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>Pirates?! Again?! Alex groans, unfortunately he’s run into
this crew of dastardly mostly cybernetic punks in the past.
Nasty group back home, always kept the precinct busy. Not
necessarily with the detective work, it was always a little
obvious when they showed up. They have a flair for the
dramatic.</p>
<p>Alex shouts to Inky &amp; Jarrod “Come on, we need to get
in one of those balloons and fast!” he then darts off in the
direction of the nearest abandoned balloon in the market
place, not looking to see if his companions had followed
him.</p>
<p><em>internally</em> I know these guys have pulled off
smaller heists, they could just be attacking the hotel to
plunder riches from its guests. They don’t seem the likes of a
retrieval team.. Then again, that Blavin fellow has multiple
teams working for him, and he doesn’t seem all too picky about
how they get the job done, it wouldn’t be surprising if he’d
hired some brigands hoping they’d get the gems faster.</p>
<p>Alex conjures up another bug, a stag beetle this time, and
casts it away at the pirate ship. It’ll probably take some
time to catch up, but once it does we’ll be able to keep an
eye on the pirate’s ship and general actions, at least within
line of sight of the bug.</p>
<p>As Alex reaches the balloon he grabs the ruby hilted dagger
and cuts the mooring lines keeping it down, and jumps into the
basket preparing for take off.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You spot a balloon that has already been knocked half loose
of its mooring by the pirate attack. The basket is listing to
the side and tugging at the one remaining rope tying it down
Its owner scurries around in circles trying to secure it.</p>
<p>The vertical panels of the balloon are all different
colors, creating a brilliant rainbow pattern. The large woven
basket is large enough for maybe three people.</p>
<p>You leap inside, swinging the ruby hilted dagger at the
remaining mooring line. The balloon owner cries out in dismay.
The basket shifts beneath your feet as the balloon tugs it
skyward.</p>
<p>In the burner, a small sunspoke—a minor fire elemental—is
merrily burning away, producing a modest flame that is hot
enough to lift the balloon slowly above the market into the
sky. There is a knob valve on the side of the burner to allow
more oxygen to flow in, thereby feeding the sunspoke and
encouraging it to burn more intensely and raise the balloon
higher and faster. The valve is currently only about one third
open.</p>
<p>A pile of blankets in one corner of the basket—and that
area of the basket itself—is covered in blood. Somebody
injured in the pirate attack must have temporarily climbed
into the basket looking for cover? As you’re about to look
away, something large-ish (small for a human, large for an
animal) under the blankets shifts and moves.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Inky stares after Alex’s sprinting figure before shrugging
and stepping towards one of the stalls selling sandwiches
bowled over by one of the large boulders. They place some
loose change on the stall’s wooden sign that had tipped over
on the ground and pocket one of the sandwiches displayed
inside an open chest oven. Next, they pick up several of the
scented candles scattered on the ground by the crash, throwing
some coins in the direction of the disoriented vendor before
continuing at a leisurely pace up the steps to the hotel,
taking in the balloonship and surrounding scenery. The members
of their merry party arriving first can hold their own as well
as the fort of a hotel.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You do a little leisurely shopping as the vendors and other
shoppers put out fires and tend to the injured. With a couple
scented candles and a sandwich safely in your pocket, you
start to climb the cloud steps, enjoying the scenery as you
go. Bread and Confidence have quite a bit of a head start on
you, and are nowhere to be seen. As the stairway winds around
the mountainside, the market and its bustle recede from view,
and soon you are quite isolated and alone.</p>
<p>The majesty of creation is humbling here: the endless,
roiling ocean of cloud; the towering mountain of rock. It’s as
though this was the creator’s playground when they were still
trying to figure out scale. Before they quite got it right for
human-sized creatures.</p>
<p>About halfway up your climb, it starts raining sheets of
paper. You snatch one and read it. Some heroic fantasy about
slaying demons and facing great peril. You grab another. A
bodice-ripping romance. Another. A gourmand’s food tour of
Basmentaria, eating their way from coast to coast. A murder
mystery whodunnit. An aetherwael handler’s guide to
interplanetary travel. How to grow your own fortified
pumpkins. On the Care and Maintenance of Fortles. The Rise and
Fall and Rise of Palace Runesocesius. Within a minute, you
have fists full of an entire library’s worth of snippets and
passages.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>It looks as though Alex will approach the hotel by balloon
from the non-pirate side. And Inky’s approach by stair will
deposit them at the hotel entrance, roughly
pirate-adjacent.</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00217.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>44</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">44 - Tue, 20 Dec 2022 08:47:08
-0700</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Dec 2022 08:47:11 -0700</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="00044">00044</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>As Alex spots the sunspoke valve he grabs it and cranks it
up to the 2/3 mark. “Sorry little friend, we’re going to need
a little bit more juice”. The baloon lurches upwards as air
rushes in feeding the sunspoke, causing it to burn more
intensely. After setting the sunspoke ablaze and shouting back
to the balloon’s owner Alex takes account of his surroundings.
It’s during this time he spots the bloodied, moving blankets.
They seem to writhe, as though something beneath them is
injured.</p>
<p>Gripping the dagger firmly in one hand Alex grabs the
blankets from the corner of the balloon basket revealing
whatever lay beneath.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The sunspoke stretches its little arms and wriggles its
little fingers. It sighs happily, luxuriating in the extra
fuel. It burns twice as bright, shooting a hot jet of bright
yellow flame up into the parachute. The sunspoke starts to
glow a molten red, and you start to rise faster.</p>
<p>As you rise up over the peak, you can finally spot the
Runesocesius. The grand hotel is draped over the top of the
mountain, clinging to it like a dragon resting on its
hoard.</p>
<p>The “cyberplasms” as Confidence called them have docked to
the side of a tower on the other side of the peak from you.
They have shot a large hole in the side of the tower, and you
can see them now starting to zipline into the building. A
thick plume of black smoke billows out of the side of the
tower, carrying pages and pages of loose paper into the air
with it. They rain down like snow. The tower must house an
extensive library.</p>
<p>You cautiously pull back a corner of the bloody blankets,
jeweled dagger raised and ready to strike. You reveal a small
bloody furry blob. You see two big round eyes, a short-snouted
face, and enormous pointed ears. It quickly looks away from
you, chirps pathetically, and trembles as it cowers in place.
You have found a frightened hemogoblin stowaway!</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00219.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>39</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>

131
www/spoilers.html
View File

@ -251,6 +251,8 @@ of the Were-Hare</a></li>
<li><a href="#00040" id="toc-00040">00040</a></li>
<li><a href="#00041" id="toc-00041">00041</a></li>
<li><a href="#00042" id="toc-00042">00042</a></li>
<li><a href="#00043" id="toc-00043">00043</a></li>
<li><a href="#00044" id="toc-00044">00044</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#bestiary" id="toc-bestiary">Bestiary</a></li>
<li><a href="#geography" id="toc-geography">Geography</a></li>
@ -263,11 +265,11 @@ id="toc-acknowledgements">Acknowledgements</a></li>
</ul>
</nav>
<h2 id="stats">Stats</h2>
<p>Total length: 41570 words / 177 minute read. (Mind you, that’s the
<p>Total length: 42782 words / 182 minute read. (Mind you, that’s the
length of this entire page, including all the extra bits and bobs. Not
just the story.)</p>
<p>There have been 148 messages posted over 157 days since the first
post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of .94.</p>
<p>There have been 155 messages posted over 160 days since the first
post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of .96.</p>
<h2 id="about">About</h2>
<p>This is a game that me and the kids in the basement are playing over
email.</p>
@ -4781,6 +4783,129 @@ bounding up the cloudstuff steps.</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00203.html">www</a></p>
<h3 id="00043">00043</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>Pirates?! Again?! Alex groans, unfortunately he’s run into this crew
of dastardly mostly cybernetic punks in the past. Nasty group back home,
always kept the precinct busy. Not necessarily with the detective work,
it was always a little obvious when they showed up. They have a flair
for the dramatic.</p>
<p>Alex shouts to Inky &amp; Jarrod “Come on, we need to get in one of
those balloons and fast!” he then darts off in the direction of the
nearest abandoned balloon in the market place, not looking to see if his
companions had followed him.</p>
<p><em>internally</em> I know these guys have pulled off smaller heists,
they could just be attacking the hotel to plunder riches from its
guests. They don’t seem the likes of a retrieval team.. Then again, that
Blavin fellow has multiple teams working for him, and he doesn’t seem
all too picky about how they get the job done, it wouldn’t be surprising
if he’d hired some brigands hoping they’d get the gems faster.</p>
<p>Alex conjures up another bug, a stag beetle this time, and casts it
away at the pirate ship. It’ll probably take some time to catch up, but
once it does we’ll be able to keep an eye on the pirate’s ship and
general actions, at least within line of sight of the bug.</p>
<p>As Alex reaches the balloon he grabs the ruby hilted dagger and cuts
the mooring lines keeping it down, and jumps into the basket preparing
for take off.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You spot a balloon that has already been knocked half loose of its
mooring by the pirate attack. The basket is listing to the side and
tugging at the one remaining rope tying it down Its owner scurries
around in circles trying to secure it.</p>
<p>The vertical panels of the balloon are all different colors, creating
a brilliant rainbow pattern. The large woven basket is large enough for
maybe three people.</p>
<p>You leap inside, swinging the ruby hilted dagger at the remaining
mooring line. The balloon owner cries out in dismay. The basket shifts
beneath your feet as the balloon tugs it skyward.</p>
<p>In the burner, a small sunspoke—a minor fire elemental—is merrily
burning away, producing a modest flame that is hot enough to lift the
balloon slowly above the market into the sky. There is a knob valve on
the side of the burner to allow more oxygen to flow in, thereby feeding
the sunspoke and encouraging it to burn more intensely and raise the
balloon higher and faster. The valve is currently only about one third
open.</p>
<p>A pile of blankets in one corner of the basket—and that area of the
basket itself—is covered in blood. Somebody injured in the pirate attack
must have temporarily climbed into the basket looking for cover? As
you’re about to look away, something large-ish (small for a human, large
for an animal) under the blankets shifts and moves.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Inky stares after Alex’s sprinting figure before shrugging and
stepping towards one of the stalls selling sandwiches bowled over by one
of the large boulders. They place some loose change on the stall’s
wooden sign that had tipped over on the ground and pocket one of the
sandwiches displayed inside an open chest oven. Next, they pick up
several of the scented candles scattered on the ground by the crash,
throwing some coins in the direction of the disoriented vendor before
continuing at a leisurely pace up the steps to the hotel, taking in the
balloonship and surrounding scenery. The members of their merry party
arriving first can hold their own as well as the fort of a hotel.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You do a little leisurely shopping as the vendors and other shoppers
put out fires and tend to the injured. With a couple scented candles and
a sandwich safely in your pocket, you start to climb the cloud steps,
enjoying the scenery as you go. Bread and Confidence have quite a bit of
a head start on you, and are nowhere to be seen. As the stairway winds
around the mountainside, the market and its bustle recede from view, and
soon you are quite isolated and alone.</p>
<p>The majesty of creation is humbling here: the endless, roiling ocean
of cloud; the towering mountain of rock. It’s as though this was the
creator’s playground when they were still trying to figure out scale.
Before they quite got it right for human-sized creatures.</p>
<p>About halfway up your climb, it starts raining sheets of paper. You
snatch one and read it. Some heroic fantasy about slaying demons and
facing great peril. You grab another. A bodice-ripping romance. Another.
A gourmand’s food tour of Basmentaria, eating their way from coast to
coast. A murder mystery whodunnit. An aetherwael handler’s guide to
interplanetary travel. How to grow your own fortified pumpkins. On the
Care and Maintenance of Fortles. The Rise and Fall and Rise of Palace
Runesocesius. Within a minute, you have fists full of an entire
library’s worth of snippets and passages.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>It looks as though Alex will approach the hotel by balloon from the
non-pirate side. And Inky’s approach by stair will deposit them at the
hotel entrance, roughly pirate-adjacent.</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00217.html">www</a></p>
<h3 id="00044">00044</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>As Alex spots the sunspoke valve he grabs it and cranks it up to the
2/3 mark. “Sorry little friend, we’re going to need a little bit more
juice”. The baloon lurches upwards as air rushes in feeding the
sunspoke, causing it to burn more intensely. After setting the sunspoke
ablaze and shouting back to the balloon’s owner Alex takes account of
his surroundings. It’s during this time he spots the bloodied, moving
blankets. They seem to writhe, as though something beneath them is
injured.</p>
<p>Gripping the dagger firmly in one hand Alex grabs the blankets from
the corner of the balloon basket revealing whatever lay beneath.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The sunspoke stretches its little arms and wriggles its little
fingers. It sighs happily, luxuriating in the extra fuel. It burns twice
as bright, shooting a hot jet of bright yellow flame up into the
parachute. The sunspoke starts to glow a molten red, and you start to
rise faster.</p>
<p>As you rise up over the peak, you can finally spot the Runesocesius.
The grand hotel is draped over the top of the mountain, clinging to it
like a dragon resting on its hoard.</p>
<p>The “cyberplasms” as Confidence called them have docked to the side
of a tower on the other side of the peak from you. They have shot a
large hole in the side of the tower, and you can see them now starting
to zipline into the building. A thick plume of black smoke billows out
of the side of the tower, carrying pages and pages of loose paper into
the air with it. They rain down like snow. The tower must house an
extensive library.</p>
<p>You cautiously pull back a corner of the bloody blankets, jeweled
dagger raised and ready to strike. You reveal a small bloody furry blob.
You see two big round eyes, a short-snouted face, and enormous pointed
ears. It quickly looks away from you, chirps pathetically, and trembles
as it cowers in place. You have found a frightened hemogoblin
stowaway!</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a
href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00219.html">www</a></p>
<h2 id="bestiary">Bestiary</h2>
<p>Some of the creatures who inhabit the world of Basmentaria</p>
<dt>